Read.Watch.Listen. Pride Month
- SE3 Committee
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
June 2026 Issue
A monthly forum to share diversity, equity, and inclusion resources.
Welcome to the next installment of Read.Watch.Listen. June is Pride month across the US, when individuals and institutions celebrate the progress of the LGBTQIA+ community and bring attention to the issues still plaguing many of its members. Since the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, June has been a month for community actions, discussions and celebrations to advance equity and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals and groups. Although our society has come a long way in many aspects of allyship and acceptance, many members of the community are still marginalized and likelier to be discriminated against than those outside it; being transgender was considered a diagnosable mental illness in the US as late as 2019. It was 2013 before Alan Turing received a posthumous pardon for his 1952 conviction of ‘homosexual activity’. And to this day, queer individuals experience discrimination, threats, and violence with disproportionate frequency. Pride month is a time to reflect on the past and imagine the future, as LGBTQIA+ individuals, as allies, and as the organizations that they coexist with and provide for on a daily basis.Â
If you are in need of support or resources, Queer Engineer is an organization that operates a text-based 24/7 support line staffed by marginalized people in the STEM community- text QEng to +1 313-662-8209
Image via Magnific
LGBTQ+ in STEM: Fostering Inclusion and Resolving Disparities Using Demographic Data | Office of the Provost
In this panel discussion at Columbia University, five professionals explore the barriers LGBTQ+ individuals often face in STEM and how better use of demographic data can help address them. They discuss gaps in representation, retention, and everyday workplace experiences, as well as how colleges, universities, and research institutions can responsibly collect and use data to identify inequities, track progress over time, and create more inclusive environments that foster a strong sense of belonging for all. We invite you to take a quick look at their comments, and stay to watch the full panel discussion for a deeper dive into the topic.
Published April 2023; Estimated Read Time - 10 minutes
Queering STEM: The Need to Revolutionalize How Science Gets Done | Lauren Esposito | TEDxBerkeley
This TedX Talk by Doctor Lauren Esposito draws upon data about the experiences of LGBTQ individuals in STEM, showing that they are disproportionally marginalized both in school and in the professional world. She points out that by sidelining and devaluing queer members of the engineering community, our society and organizations rob themselves of valuable insight, diversity of thought, and contributions from this group. By sharing her experiences as a queer individual fighting for representation and equity in STEM fields, she emphasizes the need for increased community and visibility. Her organization, 500 Queer Scientists, works to promote these goals and increase allyship in the industry, for the benefit of all its participants.
Originally aired June 2023; 00:15:35
The Cost of Hiding: A Black Gay Engineer's Path Back to Himself | Empowered & Out Podcast
This podcast episode, provided by the Engineering Management Institute, addresses the importance of developing a fulfilling and well-structured internship program at your firm. It is critical, notes longtime engineering manager and intern supervisor Robert Khoury, to ensure that the intern feels respected, valued, and supported during their time at a company. Engaged managers should provide regular feedback, and metrics for success must be consistent and well-communicated. Successful internship programs often create opportunities to hire the intern as a full time employee, bypassing expensive and time consuming searches and screening, and resulting in tried-and-true new hires who can hit the ground running from day one. By ensuring that the internship process is consistent and intentional, companies can count on smooth onboarding, valuable and productive internship periods, establish career pipelines, and cultivate an enduring positive public perception of the organization.
Originally published March 2026; 00:69:12
This article was originally published in the NCSEA's Structural Connection newsletter.
Read.Watch.Listen is a monthly forum hosted by the NCSEA SE3 Committee to share and promote conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion within the structural engineering profession. Each month, we will curate a series of articles, audio-visual and digital media to facilitate self-education in matters that affect our professional practice as structural engineers. Whether you choose to read, watch, or listen (or all three!), we hope you will join us in this important conversation. Missed the previous issue? Check out the NCSEA SE3 Committee News and Publication page.
Share your thoughts and/or recommended resources for the next issue at ncsea@ncsea.com.